EP1064990B1 - Procédé pour la granulation d'un matériau particulaire - Google Patents

Procédé pour la granulation d'un matériau particulaire Download PDF

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EP1064990B1
EP1064990B1 EP00610065A EP00610065A EP1064990B1 EP 1064990 B1 EP1064990 B1 EP 1064990B1 EP 00610065 A EP00610065 A EP 00610065A EP 00610065 A EP00610065 A EP 00610065A EP 1064990 B1 EP1064990 B1 EP 1064990B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
granulation
particles
gas
pipe
aperture
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EP00610065A
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German (de)
English (en)
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EP1064990A1 (fr
Inventor
Kim Torben Walter
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GEA Aseptomag AG
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Aeromatic Fielder AG
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    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C13—SUGAR INDUSTRY
    • C13B—PRODUCTION OF SUCROSE; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR
    • C13B50/00—Sugar products, e.g. powdered, lump or liquid sugar; Working-up of sugar
    • C13B50/004—Agglomerated sugar products; Agglomeration
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; TREATMENT THEREOF, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES
    • A23P—SHAPING OR WORKING OF FOODSTUFFS, NOT FULLY COVERED BY A SINGLE OTHER SUBCLASS
    • A23P10/00—Shaping or working of foodstuffs characterised by the products
    • A23P10/20—Agglomerating; Granulating; Tabletting
    • A23P10/22—Agglomeration or granulation with pulverisation of solid particles, e.g. in a free-falling curtain
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01J—CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
    • B01J19/00—Chemical, physical or physico-chemical processes in general; Their relevant apparatus
    • B01J19/26—Nozzle-type reactors, i.e. the distribution of the initial reactants within the reactor is effected by their introduction or injection through nozzles
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01J—CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
    • B01J2/00—Processes or devices for granulating materials, e.g. fertilisers in general; Rendering particulate materials free flowing in general, e.g. making them hydrophobic
    • B01J2/16—Processes or devices for granulating materials, e.g. fertilisers in general; Rendering particulate materials free flowing in general, e.g. making them hydrophobic by suspending the powder material in a gas, e.g. in fluidised beds or as a falling curtain
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01J—CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
    • B01J8/00—Chemical or physical processes in general, conducted in the presence of fluids and solid particles; Apparatus for such processes
    • B01J8/18—Chemical or physical processes in general, conducted in the presence of fluids and solid particles; Apparatus for such processes with fluidised particles
    • B01J8/24—Chemical or physical processes in general, conducted in the presence of fluids and solid particles; Apparatus for such processes with fluidised particles according to "fluidised-bed" technique
    • B01J8/245—Spouted-bed technique
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01J—CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
    • B01J8/00—Chemical or physical processes in general, conducted in the presence of fluids and solid particles; Apparatus for such processes
    • B01J8/18—Chemical or physical processes in general, conducted in the presence of fluids and solid particles; Apparatus for such processes with fluidised particles
    • B01J8/24—Chemical or physical processes in general, conducted in the presence of fluids and solid particles; Apparatus for such processes with fluidised particles according to "fluidised-bed" technique
    • B01J8/44—Fluidisation grids
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C13—SUGAR INDUSTRY
    • C13K—SACCHARIDES OBTAINED FROM NATURAL SOURCES OR BY HYDROLYSIS OF NATURALLY OCCURRING DISACCHARIDES, OLIGOSACCHARIDES OR POLYSACCHARIDES
    • C13K5/00—Lactose
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01J—CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
    • B01J2208/00—Processes carried out in the presence of solid particles; Reactors therefor
    • B01J2208/00008—Controlling the process
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01J—CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROCESSES, e.g. CATALYSIS OR COLLOID CHEMISTRY; THEIR RELEVANT APPARATUS
    • B01J2219/00—Chemical, physical or physico-chemical processes in general; Their relevant apparatus
    • B01J2219/19—Details relating to the geometry of the reactor
    • B01J2219/194—Details relating to the geometry of the reactor round
    • B01J2219/1941—Details relating to the geometry of the reactor round circular or disk-shaped
    • B01J2219/1946—Details relating to the geometry of the reactor round circular or disk-shaped conical
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
    • Y10T428/00—Stock material or miscellaneous articles
    • Y10T428/29—Coated or structually defined flake, particle, cell, strand, strand portion, rod, filament, macroscopic fiber or mass thereof
    • Y10T428/2982—Particulate matter [e.g., sphere, flake, etc.]
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
    • Y10T428/00—Stock material or miscellaneous articles
    • Y10T428/29—Coated or structually defined flake, particle, cell, strand, strand portion, rod, filament, macroscopic fiber or mass thereof
    • Y10T428/2982—Particulate matter [e.g., sphere, flake, etc.]
    • Y10T428/2991—Coated

Definitions

  • the invention relates to granulation, i.e. transforming particles into granules each comprising several particles.
  • Granulation of fine powder materials is applied within various industries. Granulation is used to transform a powder with poor free flowing capability into a product with proper free flowing capabilities. Another reason for granulation is to avoid that the final product has an unwanted dust emission.
  • granulation is used to improve the handling characteristics of the materials and the exactness of the dosage. Furthermore, granulation is used to bind active dust materials to harmless base substances.
  • granulation is used including what is often termed agglomeration.
  • the material to be granulated is wetted with a solvent or a solution to make the primary particles forming the material tacky.
  • a binder may be present in the particles or in the solution, or the ability of becoming tacky when wet may be inherent in the particles.
  • the wet and tacky particles adhere to each other when brought into mutual contact and the junction is fixed by drying the material.
  • Various materials differ in their ability to absorb the solvent or solution without getting totally wet and they become adhesive at different product humidity levels, so obviously not all materials are equally easy to granulate.
  • a combination of materials is used with different abilities to become tacky.
  • Another approach to obtain adhesion between the particles is to use a mechanical force simultaneously with the wetting.
  • Granulation can be performed, using methods of different types.
  • Low shear granulation (such as ROTO-PROCESSORTM from Aeromatic-Fielder) gives less compact granules and a more narrow particle size distribution. This type of granulation does not demand milling and the granules produced by it are easy to dry.
  • a disadvantage with the low shear granulation is the difficulty in scaling up and the limit in the size of the batch.
  • fluid bed granulation Another type of conventional granulation is fluid bed granulation.
  • fluid bed granulation the product is kept fluidized while the solvent or solution is applied by means of a nozzle above or within the fluidized layer.
  • the process of getting the single particles of the product together has to rely on the random movement of the product and on the fact that the product particles are wet enough to adhere to each other.
  • An advantage with fluid bed granulation is, that the particle distribution can be more narrow than in mechanical granulation and the process is easy to scale up.
  • Critical parameters for fluid bed granulation are the product layer thickness and the distribution of the solution spray over the product.
  • a disadvantage with fluid bed granulation can be that the granules are not so compact and stable as the granule produced in the mechanical process.
  • Another disadvantage is, that when treating products having a critical wetting rate, the process is difficult to control. During the granulation process the particle size is changing, which means that the volume flow has to be increased at the same rate as the particle size growth to ensure the same grade of suspension of the product layer throughout the process. Because the granule produced in fluid bed granulation is not as stable as in the mechanical granulation process, the granule is vulnerable to attrition during the drying process. Examples of fluid bed granulation are described in US 5,695,701 (Niro).
  • Granulation is also performed as an integrated part of a spray drying process in which fine particles produced by spray drying are recycled to the spraying zone in the spray drying apparatus for contacting droplets and wet particles and subsequent drying.
  • said method involves a risk of heat-damaging and is, moreover, only suitable when at least a substantial part of the starting material is present as a liquid.
  • plant investments are high and only acceptable when a spray drying process is necessitated to transform a starting liquid into dry solid. Thus, such processes are out of consideration when the problem is to granulate a material already present as particles.
  • a feature of this fluidized bed apparatus is a vertical pipe arranged over an upwardly directed nozzle for spraying liquid droplets onto particles moving upward through said pipe.
  • the moisture content in the particles may suddenly exceed a value by which the particles are partly transformed into droplets causing a total caking of the whole batch being treated.
  • the high moisture content of the particles causes problems if a temporary interruption of the process is necessitated. If the flow of fluidizing gas is interrupted, the wet particles immediately collect as a mass on the bottom of the equipment. This mass can no longer be fluidized and must be removed by mechanical means or manually.
  • the process of the invention may be performed using equipment of a design similar to or even identical to equipment described for a completely different purpose, viz. coating ot particles while avoiding any substantial granulation or agglomeration.
  • Said equipment is described inter alia in US 5,718,764 and termed PRECISION COATERTM (Aeromatic-Fielder).
  • PRECISION COATERTM Aeromatic-Fielder
  • the invention deals with a process for granulation of a particulate material by subjecting the particles to a repeated circulating movement comprising an upward pneumatical movement from a starting area inside a vertical granulation pipe while the particles are entrained in a stream of drying and moving gas and simultaneously being subjected to a spray of droplets of granulation liquid, said circulating movement further comprising a downward movement outside said pipe, and a horizontal movement towards the starting area for said pneumatical movement, which process is characterized in passing the particles at said starting area into a zone above an annular horizontal aperture of a diameter less than the diameter of said vertical pipe, from which aperture a swirling flow of drying and carrying gas is emitted at a momentum accelerating and controlling the flow of particles in a rotation-symmetrical, hollow zone above the annular aperture and around an imaginary vertical centre line of said aperture; and from a location on said imaginary centre line producing an upward spray of droplets of granulation liquid hitting the particles while these are in said zone thereby creating efficient contact between wet sticky particles combined with a fast
  • the active spray zone is small, only a few percent of the total amount of the batch is in the spray zone at any given time.
  • the product gets accelerated to ensure sufficient suspension so the individual particle can be wetted evenly.
  • the product leaves the exit at the top of the duct above the nozzle it has been wetted, particles have been sticked together to form granules, and these have been dried to a substantial extent.
  • each granule may typically be subjected to from 20 to 1,000 passages through the pipe.
  • the invention also deals with a granulate being the direct product of the process and characterized in having a content of non-granulated particles less than 5% by weight.
  • Fine lactose particles having a particle size below 38 ⁇ m cannot be granulated satisfactorily by the prior art granulation methods discussed above, for which reason it is a further object of the invention to provide a lactose granulate having a mean granulate size above 200 ⁇ m, consisting essentially of primary lactose particles having a particle size below 38 ⁇ m.
  • a further object of the invention is to provide a granulate of crystalline particles of high solubility having a mean granulate size above 200 ⁇ m and being essentially formed of crystalline primary particles of a mean particle size below 25 ⁇ m.
  • a granulation apparatus having a housing 1 in which a base plate 2 is fixed.
  • the base plate divides the apparatus into an upper granulation chamber 3 and a plenum 4.
  • an upward directed nozzle 5 is arranged in the centre of the base plate.
  • the nozzle is a two-fluid nozzle, but also a pressure nozzle may be used.
  • the nozzle is placed in a circular hole in the base plate of substantially larger diameter than the outer diameter of the nozzle, whereby an annular aperture 6 is formed around the nozzle.
  • the dimensions of said annular aperture 6 may be altered by using different inserts in the base plate (not shown).
  • a pipe 7 is positioned at a certain distance from the base plate.
  • perforations 8 exist for passing a small amount of air from the plenum 4 to the granulation chamber 3.
  • guiding walls 9 are provided below the base plate. These walls define a rotation-symmetrical space having downward expanding horizontally cross-section area.
  • the gas guiding walls may typically be shaped as a downward expanding conus, but other shapes may be preferred, provided they are rotation-symmetrical and have a downward expanding cross-section area.
  • means 10 for imparting a swirling flow of an upward gas stream through the guiding walls 9 are provided at the lower portion of said guiding walls.
  • a horizontal net 11 (Fig. 3) is inserted.
  • the function of said net is to catch particles falling down through the aperture 6 when the function of the apparatus is interrupted.
  • means such as filter means, exist for preventing particles from being entrained by gas leaving the chamber having served as drying and carrying gas.
  • gas in the present specification and claims comprises atmospheric air.
  • Figs. 2, 3, or 4 it is illustrated how the means 10 for imparting the swirling flow to the gas stream passing from plenum 4 to the chamber 3 may be constructed.
  • said means are for simplicity formed by only four elements, each having a vertical and a slanted section deflecting the air flow in the same direction. However, typically a greater number of elements will be used for said purpose.
  • a pressure difference is created between the plenum 4 and the granulation chamber 3, whereby an upward gas stream passes between the guiding walls 9 and through the aperture 6.
  • this gas passes the means 10, e.g. embodied as depicted in Figs. 3, 4, and 5, it obtains a swirling flow pattern.
  • the available space decreases and, consequently, an acceleration takes place involving not only an increase of the velocity in upward direction but also an increase of the rotational velocity.
  • This acceleration has the beneficial effect of decreasing or removing the turbulence which is unavoidably created by the rotation-imparting means 10.
  • the particulate material to be granulated is introduced into the chamber 3, in which it collects in the bottom portion mainly in a zone outside the pipe 9 called the down-flow zone. From the plenum 4 gas flows through the several small perforations 8 below the down-flow zone, whereby the material to be granulated is kept in an aerated but not fluidized state.
  • the lifting effect of the not very intensive gas stream serves only to prevent packing in the down-flow zone of the material to be granulated and to increase free-flowing thereof.
  • the material in this zone is not so moist that there is any need for a fluidization to avoid that the particles stick together or to the walls.
  • the main portion of the gas from the plenum 4 flows through the space between the guiding walls 9 where the gas achieves a swirling flow as explained above.
  • starting area which in Figs. 1 and 2 is above the non-perforated portion 12 of the base plate 2.
  • the swirling gas flow determines the flow pattern of the particles in a rotation-symmetrical, hollow zone above the annular aperture and around an imaginary vertical centre line of said aperture. From the nozzle 5 an upward spray of granulation liquid hits the particles while these are in said zone, thereby making them sticky before and simultaneously with the mutual collision of the particles.
  • the drying of the particles wetted by the droplets of granulation liquid is extremely fast and, consequently, it is possible to conduct the process using such efficient drying that the clusters or agglomerates of two or more particles formed by contact between the particles in wet condition are dried to the moisture content desired in the final product, before said clusters or agglomerates reach the top of the pipe 7.
  • the process can be continued until the particles have passed through the pipe 7 a suitable number of times, e.g. between 20 and 1,000 times at average.
  • Each passage through the pipe 7 can be regarded as a complete granulation process comprising wetting, collision with mutual adherence, and drying. This, in principle complete granulation, is then repeated until the desired granule size and dust removal are obtained.
  • the velocity of the swirling gas flow emitted from the annular aperture 6 is high, typically 25-100 m/sec, calculated with regard to the upward direction only.
  • Successful experiments have been performed using gas velocities in the ranges of 24-28, 43-48, 70-76, and 90-96 m/sec. In comparison to prior art processes using a similar pipe 7 but with no swirl of the process gas, said velocities are high.
  • the selection of the proper velocity for said gas flow is determined by the fact that a suitable acceleration and suspension of the particles shall be obtained while the particles on the other hand shall not be scattered too much outside the zone where they are hit by the atomized droplets of granulation fluid.
  • the swirling movement of the gas flow enables a higher actual velocity of the gas relative to the particles than if the same amount of gas were emitted vertically upwards. Also the particle movement is improved to enable a more efficient wetting by the sprayed droplets.
  • the swirl is necessary to prevent the particles from being sucked too early toward the imaginary centre line, and thus helps to delay the collision of the particles until these have been wetted or are in the process of being wetted.
  • the atomizing gas conducted to the two-fluid nozzle is preferably at a pressure less than 150,000 Pa (1.5 bar) above atmospheric pressure.
  • the atomizing gas pressure is too high, the atomizing gas has a scattering effect on the particles impeding their mutual contact meaning that the particle flow becomes more akin to the one desired in a coating process than the one desired for granulation.
  • the two-fluid nozzle is operated with atomizing gas at an over-pressure less than 100,000 Pa (1 bar), e.g. 20,000-50,000 Pa (0.2-0.5 bar).
  • An advantage of using a relatively low pressure for the atomizing gas in the two-fluid nozzle is also caused by the fact that thereby the droplet size increases and thus the evaporation from the surfaces of the droplets before the latter reach the particles is decreased.
  • the most suitable pressure is determined by experimentation, typically within the range of 500,000-1,000,000 Pa (5-10 bar).
  • the process may for most materials be conducted using a drying in the granulation pipe so efficient that at each passage the granules and particles leave the granulation pipe having a moisture content not above the one desired in the final product, meaning that nearly the total amount of material being treated, with exception of only a very small proportion of particles present in the granulation pipe, has a desired moisture content and no extra drying is necessitated.
  • an embodiment of the process which may be preferred comprises a first step in which the moisture content of the material being treated is increased to not above 12% by weight, followed by a second step in which said moisture content is decreased to the one desired in the final granulated product.
  • the process of the invention may be performed in an apparatus having more than one granulation pipe in a common housing.
  • Such apparatuses having several pipes in a common housing may be designed similarly to those described in connection with coating apparatuses in the above cited US Patent 5,718,764.
  • the material may be granulated batch-wise or in a continuous process in which it passes through several granulation pipes in series.
  • Said granulation pipes may be jointed as units in series where each unit comprises more than one pipe. Relevant information on continuous operation and apparatuses therefore can be found in US 5,648,118 (Niro) and US 5,470,387 (Niro) dealing with coating.
  • the granulation by the process according to the invention can be performed as a step of a combined process in which it is succeeded by a coating or drying or both, preferably in equipment being the same or similar to the one used for the granulation.
  • the term "granulation fluid” is used as covering any liquid able to provoke adhesion between the particles to be granulated. This adhesion may be caused by a binder dissolved in the liquid or being a result of the liquid acting as a solvent for suitable components of the material to be granulated.
  • the process of the invention is very advantageous from an operational viewpoint. Only little attendance is required and it is suitable for automatic control, e.g. utilizing signals from sensors measuring humidity in the exit gas from the granulation chamber and in the product, by imaging, etc.
  • the present process can be applied to substantially all materials conventionally subjected to granulation processes.
  • materials which have hitherto been successfully granulated using the method are as follows: yeast, detergents, soda ash, flocculants, herb extract, gelatin, baby food, pharmaceuticals for tabletizing, sugars, and other crystalline materials.
  • the process enables granulation of materials hitherto regarded as not being suitable for granulation.
  • the diameter of the base plate 2 was 270 mm.
  • the diameter of the granulation pipe 7 was 150 mm and the outer diameter of the annular aperture 6 was 60 mm.
  • the pressure of the atomizing air led to the two-fluid nozzle was 25,000 Pa (0.25 bar) over-pressure.
  • the volume flow rate of process air introduced through the annular aperture 6 was 250 m 3 /h and the temperature of said air was 80°C. This corresponds to an upward velocity of the gas through the annular aperture of appr. 25 m/sec.
  • the particulate material which was granulated was a normal pharmaceutical base formulation for tablet pressing without any drug added to the base.
  • the composition was as follows: Material [% ⁇ total ⁇ ] Actual weight [g] Lactose 200 # 88 4400 Plasdone XL 10 2 100 Microcrystalline Cellulose 5 250 Kollidon 30 (PVP) 5 250 Total 100 5000
  • Lactose 200 # is a product passing a 200 mesh screen (75 ⁇ m).
  • the granulation process was continued for 1,423 sec, at which time 2.55 kg water had been applied.
  • This example shows that by the process of the invention it is possible to obtain a superior granulation result with a remarkably low content of fine particles and at the same time avoiding any moisturing of the total amount of material exceeding 7.4%.
  • Example 2 shows that it is possible to operate the process at even lower humidity than in Example 1 and still obtain a satisfactory agglomeration and a very low amount of fine particles.
  • Example 2 the same apparatus and the same process parameters as in Example 1 was used apart from the fact that 2.53 kg water was sprayed during a period of 1,392 sec and after that period the spraying was stopped but the drying continued in 3 min.
  • the material to be granulated was formulated as indicated in Example 1 apart from the fact that the lactose was of much finer particle size, viz. 450 mesh corresponding to a particle size less than 38 ⁇ m.
  • Such fine lactose is very difficult to granulate, especially in fluid bed apparatuses since the fine particles are blown away at gas velocities as low as 0.05 m/sec.
  • Example 1 The apparatus and the batch size and atomizing pressure were as in Example 1.
  • the agglomeration liquid was water applied in an amount of 3.00 kg.
  • the spraying was continued for 1,515 sec followed by a drying period of 5 min and 15 sec.
  • powdered sugar sacharose
  • This material is regarded as extremely difficult to granulate in fluidized bed processes, but using conditions similar to those described in the above examples, a product was produced with a weight mean particle size of 419 ⁇ m and with a mean particle ratio of 3.5.
  • This example comprises four experiments using solutions of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) at different concentrations as granulation liquid.
  • PVP polyvinylpyrrolidone
  • the basic material was a chemical composition having the particle size distribution shown in the table below.
  • the aim of this experiment was to produce a granulate having a main fraction of 600 ⁇ m. It was also desired to remove dust which here means particles below 250 ⁇ .
  • the first experiment was with a granulation liquid being a 20% w/w aqueous PVP solution.
  • the ambient condition was 22°C with a specific humidity of 7.6 g H 2 O/kg air, which is equal to a relative humidity RH of 45%.
  • the gas inlet temperature was 110°C.
  • the gas rate was 200 m 3 /h corresponding to an upward velocity of the swirling gas leaving the annular aperture of 80 m/sec.
  • the spray rate of the PVP solution was 20 g/min, with an atomizing pressure of 0.75 bar.
  • the outlet gas temperature at this spray rate was 45°C and the product temperature 52°C. This corresponds to an outlet humidity of 37% RH.
  • the spraying time was 4 min.
  • the granulation liquid was a 10% PVP solution and the spraying time was 4 min and 20 sec.
  • the granulation liquid was a 15% PVP solution and the spraying time was 7 min.
  • a sweetening agent inolin
  • inolin was granulated using an aqueous 6 w/w % sweetener solution as granulation liquid.
  • the desired granulates were obtained with a moisture content of 2.5% without final drying, satisfying the requirement of a maximum moisture content of 3% valid for this type of product.

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  • Organic Chemistry (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
  • Food Science & Technology (AREA)
  • Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
  • Biochemistry (AREA)
  • Polymers & Plastics (AREA)
  • Glanulating (AREA)
  • Dairy Products (AREA)
  • Saccharide Compounds (AREA)
  • Manufacturing Of Micro-Capsules (AREA)
  • Solid-Sorbent Or Filter-Aiding Compositions (AREA)

Claims (17)

  1. Procédé pour la granulation d'un matériau particulaire en exposant les particules à un mouvement circulant répété comprenant un mouvement pneumatique vers le haut depuis un endroit de départ à l'intérieur d'un tuyau vertical de granulation pendant que les particules sont entraínées dans un courant de gaz séchant et mouvant et en même temps étant assujetties à un jet de gouttelettes de liquide de granulation, mouvement circulant qui comprend aussi un mouvement vers le bas en dehors dudit tuyau et un mouvement horizontal vers l'endroit de départ pour ledit mouvement pneumatique, caractérisé en passant les particules audit endroit de départ dans une zone au-dessus d'une ouverture annulaire et horizontale avec un diamètre inférieur à celui dudit tuyau vertical, ouverture à partir de laquelle un courant tourbillonnant de gaz séchant et porteur est émis à un moment, accélérant et contrôlant le courant de particules dans une zone creuse symétrique à rotation au-dessus de l'ouverture annulaire et autour d'une ligne centrale imaginaire et verticale de ladite ouverture ; et depuis un lieu sur ladite ligne centrale imaginaire produisant un nuage vers le haut de gouttelettes de liquide de granulation touchant les particules lorsque celles-ci sont dans ladite zone, ainsi créant du contact efficace entre des particules humides et graisseuses en combinaison avec un séchage rapide afin de produire des granules stables sortant de la portion supérieure du tuyau de granulation dans un état non-graisseux.
  2. Procédé selon la revendication 1, caractérisé en ce que le courant tourbillonnant de gaz est émis à une vélocité de 25-100 m/sec calculée à l'égard de la direction vers le haut seulement.
  3. Procédé selon la revendication 1, caractérisé en ce que le jet vers le haut de gouttelettes de liquide de granulation est produit au moyen d'une tuyère à deux fluides.
  4. Procédé selon la revendication 3, caractérisé en ce que l'on utilise du gaz atomiseur à une surpression inférieure à 150.000 Pas (1,5 bars).
  5. Procédé selon la revendication 3, caractérisé en ce que l'on utilise du gaz atomiseur à une surpression inférieure à 100.000 Pas (1 bar).
  6. Procédé selon la revendication 3, caractérisé en ce que l'on utilise du gaz atomiseur à une surpression de 20.000-50.000 Pas (0,2-0,5 bars).
  7. Procédé selon la revendication 1, caractérisé en ce que, calculé à la base de la quantité totale de matériaux particulaires étant traités, la teneur en humidité ne surpasse jamais 13 pour cent en poids.
  8. Procédé selon la revendication 1, caractérisé en ce que le procédé comprend une première étape où la teneur en humidité du matériau étant traité est augmentée à ne pas surpasser 12 pour cent en poids, suivie par une deuxième étape où ladite teneur en humidité est diminuée à celle désirée dans le produit granulé final.
  9. Procédé selon la revendication 1, caractérisé en ce que le jet vers le haut de gouttelettes de liquide de granulation est produit au moyen d'une tuyère à pression.
  10. Procédé selon la revendication 1, caractérisé en ce que le courant tourbillonnant de gaz émis de l'ouverture annulaire est pourvue au moyen de parois guidantes au-dessous de ladite ouverture et adaptées au bord de celle-ci, parois guidantes qui définissent un espace symétrique à rotation présentant une étendue de section horizontale s'élargissant vers le bas, lesdites parois guidant du gaz étant arrangées dans ou débouchant dans un plénum relié à une source de gaz à une pression plus haute que celle existant au-dessus de l'ouverture annulaire, et lesdites parois guidant du gaz portant à une distance de ladite ouverture annulaire, à un lieu où l'étendue de section horizontale est essentiellement plus large que celle de l'ouverture annulaire, des moyens pour impartir un mouvement tourbillonnant à un courant accélérateur de gaz vers le haut entre les parois guidantes et à travers l'ouverture annulaire.
  11. Procédé selon la revendication 1, caractérisé en traitant le matériau dans un appareil ayant plus qu'un tuyau de granulation dans un boítier commun.
  12. Procédé selon la revendication 1, caractérisé en ce que le matériau est granulé dans un procédé continu dans lequel le matériau passe à travers plusieurs tuyaux de granulation arrangés en séries.
  13. Procédé selon la revendication 12, caractérisé en ce que lesdits tuyaux de granulation sont arrangés comme des unités en séries, chaque unité comprenant plus qu'un tuyau.
  14. Procédé selon la revendication 1 caractérisé en ce que la granulation est effectuée comme une étape d'un procédé combiné dans lequel la granulation est suivie par un enrobage ou un séchage ou les deux, préférablement dans un équipement étant le même ou similaire à celui utilisé pour la granulation.
  15. Granulat étant le produit direct du procédé selon la revendication 1, caractérisé en présentant une teneur en particules non-granulées inférieure à 5 pour cent en poids.
  16. Granulat de lactose préparé par le procédé selon les revendications 1-14 et présentant des dimensions de granulat en moyen supérieures à 200 µm, constitué essentiellement de particules de lactose primaire ayant des dimensions de particules inférieures à 38 µm.
  17. Granulat de particules cristallines d'une haute solubilité préparé par le procédé selon les revendications 1-14 et présentant des dimensions de granulat en moyen supérieures à 200 µm et essentiellement formé de particules primaires cristallines de dimensions de particules en moyen inférieures à 25 µm.
EP00610065A 1999-06-29 2000-06-27 Procédé pour la granulation d'un matériau particulaire Expired - Lifetime EP1064990B1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

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US14098799P 1999-06-29 1999-06-29
US140987P 1999-06-29

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EP1064990B1 true EP1064990B1 (fr) 2004-03-03

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US (1) US6492024B1 (fr)
EP (1) EP1064990B1 (fr)
JP (1) JP4679696B2 (fr)
AT (1) ATE260708T1 (fr)
DE (1) DE60008636T2 (fr)
DK (1) DK1064990T3 (fr)
ES (1) ES2213560T3 (fr)

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US8012533B2 (en) 2005-02-04 2011-09-06 Oxane Materials, Inc. Composition and method for making a proppant
US7491444B2 (en) 2005-02-04 2009-02-17 Oxane Materials, Inc. Composition and method for making a proppant
US7867613B2 (en) 2005-02-04 2011-01-11 Oxane Materials, Inc. Composition and method for making a proppant
JP5270366B2 (ja) * 2005-12-20 2013-08-21 シムライズ アーゲー 球状メントール粒子
US9138414B1 (en) 2006-09-15 2015-09-22 Delavau Llc Calcium supplement having enhanced absorption
DE102008004893A1 (de) * 2008-01-17 2009-07-23 Add Technologies Ltd. Trägerpellets, Verfahren zu deren Herstellung und deren Verwendung
SI22923B (sl) 2008-12-01 2017-12-29 Brinox, D.O.O. Procesna naprava za oblaganje delcev
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DE102005019444B4 (de) * 2005-04-21 2008-02-28 Glatt Gmbh Sprühdüse für eine Wirbelschichteinrichtung

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DE60008636D1 (de) 2004-04-08
US6492024B1 (en) 2002-12-10
EP1064990A1 (fr) 2001-01-03
ES2213560T3 (es) 2004-09-01
DK1064990T3 (da) 2004-05-24
JP2001070779A (ja) 2001-03-21
DE60008636T2 (de) 2005-03-10
JP4679696B2 (ja) 2011-04-27
ATE260708T1 (de) 2004-03-15

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